Why I’m waiting to buy GTA V

I am a huge Rockstar fan (now owned by Take 2), and have bought and played nearly all of their games since GTA 3 came out way back in 2003. When news finally broke of GTA V, I couldn’t wait. I read the dev diaries and blogs, drooled over every screen shot, and intently studied every trailer video. But now that it’s out, I’m waiting. Why? Because of the Generational Divide. No, not that one. The divide we are currently in between the prior and next gen of gaming consoles.

Why Rockstar chose to release GTA V on previous gen consoles RIGHT before the release of the next gen consoles is a puzzle to me. True, the PS3 and Xbox 360 installed bases are arguably at their peak, making any game developer giddy at the size of the potential customer market. And it’s true, AAA games like GTAV take many (too many) years to develop, and often are plagued by delays. And yes, any game developer knows they must release before the critical holiday season (when some retailers see 40% of their annual sales). But even with all of those factors, why would Rockstar/Take 2 not release on current and next gen consoles at the same time, for example as Ubisoft did with AC Black Flag?

Unless…

My guess (and I’m willing to place money on it), is that they are preparing a next gen version in all of it’s high def, mega-framerate, cpu/gpu gobbling goodness. And a PC version wouldn’t hurt either.

Rockstar/Take 2 have spent years (at least 5) developing GTA V with a team of up to 1,000 and no doubt have spent $millions in development. With some tweaks, they can release the game in higher resolution/framerate/definition glory on next gen consoles (a small but growing market, where on average games cost around $10 more than the prior gen). And what better way to show off the new consoles than with an amazing game (metascore of 97)? I mean, let’s be honest, many of the launch titles for the next gen consoles have been mostly “meh” so far. Even my limited time with Black Flag so far has left a lot to be desired. Editors note – Chris is entirely wrong and AC4 is AMAZING.

So despite being a die-hard, ultra Rockstar Fan, I’m waiting. Because when I finally do dig into GTA V, I want it to be the best experience possible. And if I’m going to spend 100+ hours playing it (like I did with GTA IV), I want to see every damn pixel.